“I love you, hurry home. I love you.” On July 19, 1989, a DC-10 headed for O’Hare with 296 aboard is paralyzed mid-air. For 44 minutes, the aircraft descended towards an emergency landing and crashed at Sioux City Gateway airport. To the astonishment of all who witnessed the event, 184 of 296 passengers and crew survived. Drawing on the interviews and research conducted by Evanston author Laurence Gonzales for his critically acclaimed book, Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival, this brand new play, United Flight 232, is a reflection on how to comprehend tragedy and celebrate human ingenuity in the face of overwhelming challenges.

Read more about this project from Adaptor and Director, Vanessa Stalling, on the Open House page.

We've been so honored to spend time with Jan Brown over this play-making process. "Vanessa asked if I wanted to meet the actress that was going to be playing me...." Jan shares about first meeting actress Brenda Barrie, and about her path to child safety advocacy.

3.5 STARS
"The very great artistic worth of this piece, beautifully toned and staged by Stalling, lies in its ability to make you think about what really matters in your life without going through such a harrowing day yourself. How better to honor those who lost their lives?"Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

RECOMMENDED
"If it is House Theatre’s mission to create engrossing, believable worlds, the active pursuit of tissues is evidence of their success here."Kevin Greene, New City Stage

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
"This is a daring story to bring to the theater, but one that despite the tragic event will give you a feeling of warmth and hopefulness."Around the Town

This production is the winner of the 2016 Joseph Jefferson Awards for

BEST PRODUCTION OF A PLAY (Midsize)

BEST ENSEMBLE

Notes from Adaptor and Director Vanessa Stalling

posted December 2015

“A repeated theme that emerged from Laurence’s interviews was one’s inherent sense of responsibility for other human beings. In a world that seems to be nothing but ugly behavior, I find this documentation quite hopeful. It helps me to believe that in a time when terrible acts are more and more frequent, I may look out at a crowd of strangers and trust that I can count on someone out there and vice versa – it is more likely that the stranger sitting next to me seeks to do good rather than bad.

These stories also provide insight about how to handle tragedy in our own lives and in the lives of others. In particular, one of the voices that Laurence interviewed, Gregory Clapper, resonated quite powerfully to me. Clapper suggests that there isn’t a way to understand why terrible things happen – but there is something we can do in light of them. We can offer to walk with one another through that mystery together. He suggests we “weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.” He also recommends that perhaps the best thing you can do is put your arm around another person.

In addition, the flight crew’s calm determination to solve what was essentially an unsolvable problem, is illuminating. At a time when our world faces overwhelming challenges, it’s good to be reminded about our capacity for creativity and resourcefulness.

I’m incredibly grateful to the passengers and crew who have shared their stories, and to Laurence for creating such comprehensive documentation of the event. Their generosity has provided me a chance to learn from their incredibly harrowing and unique life experience, and has ultimately changed my perspective about how I want to connect with other human beings.”